Monday, July 16, 2007

I Hate When That Happens

Foxnews - GHOR HADITHA, Jordan — Giant road signs at the entrance to this village warned that the ground could give way any time. And then I heard rumbling. Farmers waved their arms and shouted furiously at me to stop my car.

It was happening; a few feet to my left, a clean-cut circle of ground had vanished. We crept to the edge of the newly formed rim, about three feet in diameter. It was still crumbling. I held the hand of a farmer, ...and leaned over, just a bit. A brave villager lay flat on his belly and peered down to gauge the depth. It was at least 100 feet deep.

"Let's get out of here," someone said. I was told the soil under my feet could collapse at any moment and I might suffer the same fate as a farmhand who fell into a sinkhole three months ago... "He suffered cuts and bruises all over his body and face, but the biggest shock was falling into a huge hole and remaining there all night without any help."

Similar sinkholes dot the fields of tomatoes, cucumbers and vegetables all around this village ...at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. The reason is the Dead Sea, less than 500 yards from the village and shrinking. The shrinkage raises the salinity of the surrounding soil and causes erosion. "Our life has become much more exciting now because we don't know when we'll drop to our death," said a farmer, munching on a fresh tomato and smiling.

At Jordan's request/demand, Israel pumps most of the free flow of the Jordan river into Jordan's water system (noting that half of the flow is captured at the Kinneret for Israel). Practically no water makes it to the Yam HaMelach (the Salt Sea aka the Dead Sea) anymore. Hence, it's gradual evaporation leading toward disappearance.